Rolling cable/conductor carriers have been widely used in the industry and are well-known to the art. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,590,961, 3,786,670 and 3,716,986. Such cable/conductor carriers typically consist of two parallel "chains", each made up of flat metal links which are pivotally connected in overlapping end-to-end relationship. Transverse bridging pins interconnect the two chains to form a box-like serpentine structure capable of carrying cables and hoses. The carriers manage the location of the carried cables and hoses and limit the radius of any bend created therein to the minimum radius of curvature of the carrier.
This radius of curvature is mechanically determined by the structure of the carrier, and is not variable except by substitution or modification of parts during assembly.
One prior art technique for defining the radius of curvature involves the formation of a kidney-shaped slot in one of the links of each chain and the disposition in this slot of a pin carried by the overlapping link. The length of the slot determines the minimum radius of curvature for the carrier. A longer slot results in a smaller radius of curvature.
In order to create cable/conductor carriers with different radii of curvature, different elements must be used in the assembly. This results in the manufacture and storage of a multitude of dissimilar elements causing an increase in cost with respect to assembly, price and inventory.